5 ways to be successful with Out of the Sandbox's new Shopify theme affiliate program

You asked for it — and now it’s here. What is it? An affiliate program for Out of the Sandbox Shopify themes!

What is an affiliate program?

First, let’s have a quick introduction to what an affiliate program is.

Affiliate programs (also referred to as affiliate marketing) are run by many online merchants as a way to build business through word of mouth and referrals.

Typically what happens is the online merchant who’s running the program provides special tracking links to each affiliate who signs up to be part of the program. Then, the affiliates can share links with friends or colleagues or post links on their websites.

When someone makes a purchase after clicking one of these tracking links, the affiliate site owner receives a portion of the sale, which may be a flat rate or a percentage of the sale.

Out of the Sandbox’s program

Out of the Sandbox’s allows affiliates to collect 15 percent of eligible sales they refer through the special tracking links, subject to approval.

So, given that an Out of the Sandbox theme costs $160, if you refer just one customer to purchase an Out of the Sandbox Shopify theme, you’ll be eligible for a $24 commission.

Twenty-four bucks may not seem like a lot — but keep in mind you’re getting this for a pretty minimal investment of time and effort. Plus, $24 starts to add up the more customers you refer!

How to promote us

Stuck on ways to help promote Out of the Sandbox and make some extra cash? Here are some ideas:

Post a link to your social media profiles letting your followers know you’re using an Out of the Sandbox theme. Include the special link provided when you sign up for the affiliate program so users can purchase instantly while you get the commission.

Consider updating your footer link to include your tracking link. This way, if someone’s browsing your site and likes it, he or she can click through and, if they purchase, you’ll be eligible for a commission. The easiest way to do this is by adding a new link to your footer menu, or by updating the link for the designer credits if you’ve already got that enabled; you can also see this article for a more customized solution.

Share your link with professional groups, virtual or real life, that you belong to. If you’re feeling particularly ambitious, you could print up business cards or small handouts with your link on it (consider shortening it with a service such as Bitly.com to make it easier for folks to type in). Then hand these out at in-person gatherings and events.

If you develop Shopify stores for clients, you’re also eligible for commission for each theme purchase you refer to us for a new site developed for a new client. More details on that here.

The fine print

As with any deal in life, there are a few ground rules with this program.

First and foremost, no self-referrals, please.

This means you can’t set up an account in your name and then buy a theme for yourself.

The idea of this program is for new store owners to use our themes, not customers who already know about Out of the Sandbox. However, please note that this is different than if you are making purchases for sites you’re developing for clients, which is a totally legit way to use this program.

We also ask that you avoid engaging in any other questionable tactics to artificially inflate your affiliate commissions.

Out of the Sandbox also uses advanced tracking methods to detect self-referrals and other abuse.

Please note that, since this program is new, Out of the Sandbox may modify the terms and commission rates in the future or discontinue the program at any time. To help make this program a success for everyone, please be honest and fair — that’s all we ask!

Finally, please note that referral sales cannot be tracked for themes purchased through the Shopify Theme Store — only purchases made at www.outofthesandbox.com are eligible for commissions.

Unfortunately, we have no way of reversing or “crediting” you for commissions for purchases made inadvertently through the wrong site, so please be sure referrals always purchase directly from the tracking link provided.

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Michael P. Hill

Michael P. Hill is a Shopify, Shopify theme, content marketing, digital marketing and product management expert based in Chicago. Follow him on Twitter at @michaelphill or connect on LinkedIn. While comments and feedback are always appreciated, Michael regrets that, due to the volume of inquires received, personal responses are not possible. For specific assistance or support with Out of the Sandbox themes, visit the help center.